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The Transition ** SMALLFRY ---> BIGTIME **

How does a small time web/graphic designer doing small scale ecommerce websites and graphic design locally make a transition to a high profile design and media agency charging big bucks getting substancial marketing budgets from client and companys of a substancial size and turnover ($2 - $30 million turnover) - Im not talking McDonalds etc... Just substancial clients with large budgets.

Good question, I can't say I am speaking from experience or anything because none of my clients fit into that category, but I would think it comes down to how confident you are of YOUR reputation, how capable you are, and what other clients say about you.

Maybe list the top 10 companies you want as your clients, develop a very strong - professionally printed portfolio, list 5 things you can do to improve their current website and then approach them in person telling them how good you, what you can do to improve their online presence are and why they should use you.

You nourish and ensure they get the best product and service possible, you listen to all their needs and be there for them.. then let word of mouth and industry reputation do its job.

Confidence is my strong point - and i belive i have decent selling skills - great design skills - but only average technical ability... I do however have a number of great programmers i can call upon at any time that offer me 5 star work at good prices for which i can happily outsource and still make a good profit at present dealing with small clients... If i can do this now, i could make great profits with bigger clients and budgets...

I want to jump ponds if possible and turn it up a gear - charge high price's and clients with big budgets not even blink an eye lid instead of having to be very price concious with small time local businesses in the fear they will go elsewhere for the cheaper option as there budget cant facilitate it - a lot of the time selling myself short.

It's a fallacy that big companies with big budgets will not bat an eyelid at higher prices. The competition at this level is more intense if anything. They have specialist buyers whose job it is to go through things with a fine tooth comb to ensure that they are getting value for money, that you have the expertise to get the job done and then probably the most important thing of all, that you have for want of a better word the pedigree, solidity and experience too see the job through and maintain it afterwards. It is a confidence thing exactly the same as you experience with your local buyer; only instead of the owner getting a good "gut feeling" that you would be a company to run with, you have to get somebody from the relevant department on side to fight your corner and they don't do that unless you meet all the relevant criteria. In short; you have to claw your way up the ladder a rung at a time establishing your credentials until finally you do find yourself in the big league.

There are three kinds of men:
The ones that learn by reading.
The few who learn by observation.
The rest of us have to pee on the electric fence.

I don't think you can transition from small to big overnight. Hone your skills, keep learning, get experience. Promote your business in the most professional high-end manner possible using the same promotion methods that high-end firms use. If you want to be improve on your success, you have to be willing to make a commitment to your business and a major part of that commitment is investment -- both time and money. Just my

Linda Jenkinson"Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean." ~Unknown

I have worked with a lot of big agencies who handle massive accounts. In my opinion, that is a miserable kind of work and not worth the money, but that's another topic! I notice that those companies were built on their reputation, their ability to network, and their contacts.

I have seen a VP of Marketing leave an agency and using their rolodex alone, start a new successful agency in 6 months from the ground up. The kinds of clients you are talking about aren't looking for great designs, innovation, etc. - they want reliability, stability, general quality. Once you have those things, it's mainly about your contacts.

FYI: My experience is that you can make LOADS of money with enterprise/large clients, but it's not nearly as much fun.

raise your prices twice a year by 20&#37;. Additionally, raise your average project sizes on top of this by 20% per 6 month by adding functionality or quality as a default. You need to do both while delivering extra value on these 20% increases. If you loose a proposal you need to find out why you have lost it and get that edge back over the competition. If you lost it because you looked small, get things that make you look bigger. If you lost it because of lack of skills, get these skills. I'm not saying do everything yourself, but you need to proove that you can use your programmers and what not on a project.